It’s a late Saturday morning. I’m brewing my first cup of coffee when I glance at my watch and notice the date. Oh, right, I think. March 13. It was one year ago that the pandemic became real to me—the first day of social distancing and watching our lives be completely upended. I remember March …
If you can keep it
Nearly four decades ago, magician David Copperfield pulled off one of his most famous stunts in front of millions of viewers on live television: the disappearance of the Statue of Liberty. It would be easy to assume why Copperfield chose Lady Liberty for this stunt. Standing at 305 feet, she is the tallest statue in …
Maybe All It Takes
In the prologue of Sting’s memoir Broken Music, he explains that you’re not going to get a play-by-play of his life. Instead, The Police frontman was “compelled to explore specific moments, certain people and relationships, and particular events, which still resonate powerfully for me as I try to understand the child I was, and the …
It’s time for a digital detox
It’s something I’ve been thinking about doing for a while now. I can’t count the number of times I’ve stayed up late because I got sucked into the vortex of Instagram or playing “just one more” round of solitaire. Or when a 5-minute break on YouTube turns into a half-hour. Or the frequency of typing …
Trip Recap: Charleston
I know there are a lot more serious things going on in the world due to Covid-19 — people are dying, hospitals are overrun and some are worried where their next paycheck is coming from. But one of the smaller consequences of this pandemic is that I had to cancel our spring break trip to …
New Year, New Identities
If a doctor told you that if you didn’t cut back on drinking and smoking, you’d be dead in a few years, would you do it? I would imagine most of us would say yes. Certainly we would try to change our habits in favor of living a longer life. But could we? As I …
Punctures
It was a cloudy, autumn afternoon, as I wandered my little city’s free art museum, still buzzed from the Oktoberfest beer I had just consumed at the cidery across the street. It had been 2 years since my husband and I moved to the city and had yet to check the museum out, so we …
Back in the habit
Can I be honest? Well, sure I can. And I would hope that you assume I am. Otherwise what’s the point of investing your time in a personal blog if you don’t trust the writer to tell the truth? But I’ve digressed. Back to what I want to be honest about. I don’t know what …
Reacting is reflecting (what I learned when someone was mean to me)
It’s a Thursday morning in March and I’m outside with my dog for his first bathroom break of the day. I’m making my way back to my apartment when I see a middle aged woman with a dog about 25 yards ahead. Within seconds our dogs realize the presence of one another, and in excitement …
Choose differently
It’s the middle of August and I’m sitting in the driver’s seat of my car parked in front of the DMV, debating whether I should wait or leave. I’m angry and frustrated with my husband, on what happens to be our 2nd wedding anniversary. I had just spent my morning trying to get my new …